“Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted; the indifference of those who should have known better; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it possible for evil to triumph.”
Haile Selassie

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Earlier this year the liberal Brookings Institute did a report evaluating tpre-K studies and reached the conclusion that most suffered from serious methodology flaws and concluded that the evidence was not there that pre-K offered the benefits suggested by proponents. Below is the conclusion from that report:

What does the research say?

The previous tables and descriptions refer to 13 separate studies
(including 3 similar studies of district programs and two similar
studies of statewide programs in Oklahoma and Georgia). Of these 13,
six report enduring and meaningful impacts beyond the pre-k pre-k
year, and three do not report findings beyond the pre-k year.

year, four
report null, negative, or very small positive impacts beyond the
It would be easy for someone without the training to carefully
evaluate these studies or someone with a strong motive to advocate for
the expansion of publicly funded pre-k to summarize this research by
saying that the preponderance of evidence supports universal
pre-k for four-year-olds. After all, of the 10 studies I’ve reviewed
that have long-term follow-up, 60 percent report substantive positive
outcomes.[xiii]
Libby Doggett, the Obama administration’s point person on Preschool
for All, has been singing exactly this song at every opportunity:

You have to look at the preponderance of the evidence. Better
high school graduation rates, social and emotional stability, less crime
and other results speak for themselves.[xiv]

But results do not speak for themselves. Rather, it is the
combination of results and the research designs that produce them that
do the speaking. And some of the combinations speak a lot louder than
others.

Not one of the studies that has
suggested long-term positive impacts of center-based early childhood
programs has been based on a well-implemented and appropriately analyzed
randomized trial, and nearly all have serious limitations in external
validity. In contrast, the only two studies in the list with both high
internal and external validity (Head Start Impact and Tennessee) find
null or negative impacts, and all of the studies that point to very
small, null, or negative effects have high external validity. In
general, a finding of meaningful long-term outcomes of an early
childhood intervention is more likely when the program is old, or small,
or a multi-year intervention, and evaluated with something other than a
well-implemented RCT. In contrast, as the program being evaluated
becomes closer to universal pre-k for four-year-olds and the evaluation
design is an RCT, the outcomes beyond the pre-k year diminish to
nothing.

I conclude that the best available
evidence raises serious doubts that a large public investment in the
expansion of pre-k for four-year-olds will have the long-term effects
that advocates tout.

This doesn’t mean that we ought not to
spend public money to help families with limited financial resources
access good childcare for their young children. After all, we spend tax
dollars on national parks, symphony orchestras, and Amtrak because they
make the lives of those who use them better today. Why not childcare?

It does mean that we need public debate
that recognizes the mixed nature of the research findings rather than a
rush to judgment based on one-sided and misleading appeals to the
preponderance of the evidence.

So in today's Star we see another article about the mayor's pre-k plan and why it must be approved.

Let's examine why the city funding pre-k is a bad idea. 1) It's the responsibility of the State to fund education not the city, you know one of those little constitutional things. 2) As quoted in the post there is no evidence that pre-k has any measurable benefits long term. 3)The original proposal was for a five year pilot funded by eliminating the Homestead Credit with "some" of that largess going to pre-k funding and the remainder of those funds aren't clearly articulated. The removal of the Homestead Credit would raise property taxes on many home owners and reduce fuding of some local public schools.

The current arguments from the local opinion writers are portraying this as an issue which "will undeniably help children" and that argument just doesan't wash.

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About Me

I have been an attorney since the Fall of 1987. I have worked in every branch of government, including a stint as a Deputy Attorney General, a clerk for a judge on the Indiana Court of Appeals, and I have worked three sessions at the Indiana State Senate.
During my time as a lawyer, I have worked not only in various government positions, but also in private practice as a trial attorney handing an assortment of mostly civil cases.
I have also been politically active and run this blog in an effort to add my voice to those calling for reform.